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Russica: [Cases of cucumber biting]

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From Quora Misha Firer  ·  Follow Writes about Russia on patreon.com/mishafirer 17h How is Russia managing to pump so many troops into Ukraine despite heavy losses and a shrinking population? In Russia, cucumber mafia has monopolized the trade driving supermarket prices higher than pork. This has led to a curious phenomenon: customers unable to afford cucumbers have resorted to biting into them in the store without paying. Some individuals get their daily cucumber fix by visiting several supermarkets in a row. Initially, retirees were the main suspects, but authorities soon realized that they lack teeth needed to bite into a cucumber. They are often caught tearing off a packet with porridge and emptying it into a portable thermos and eating while moving along the aisle. Children were also ruled out because the bite marks were simply too large. One theory suggests that adults may be biting off chunks and carrying them home in their mouths, pelican-style, to feed their vitamin-s...
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Ukraine Depended on Western Weaponry. Now That Script Has Flipped.

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Kyiv’s European allies are snapping up its military know-how as they seek to build up their own defenses  By Yaroslav Trofimov and Bojan Pancevski   Photography by Lucia Blahova The Wall Street Journal ,  March 1, 2026 10:00 pm ET;   original article contains more illustrations Quick Summary --The “Build With Ukraine” initiative launched its first production facility near Munich, producing Ukrainian-engineered Linza drones. --European nations are adopting Ukrainian innovation to retool militaries and revitalize their defense industries, with Germany providing funding. --European nations pledged hundreds of billions in defense spending, with the EU committing about $106 billion for Ukraine, as most U.S. aid to Kyiv has halted. MUNICH—When the full-scale Russian invasion began, Western defense manufacturers rushed their modern weaponry into Ukraine, helping Kyiv drive back a much more powerful foe. Four years on, the flow of battle-tested technology is going the other ...
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In Ukraine, a Community of ‘Simple Believers’ Shuns the Modern World

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The Christians known as viruiuchi prostaky see electricity, cars, higher education and much else as distractions from what really matters. In Ukraine, a Community of ‘Simple Believers’ Shuns the Modern World Laying a foundation for a house in the village of Kosmyryn, in western Ukraine, in November. Laying a foundation for a house in the village of Kosmyryn,  in western Ukraine, in November.   Photographs by  Mauricio Lima Written by  Yurii Shyvala Mauricio Lima and Yurii Shyvala spent more than a week with the simple believers, as they call themselves, in Kosmyryn and other villages in Ukraine’s west.  March 1, 2026   On the outskirts of Kosmyryn, a village in western Ukraine, several men poured the foundation for a house. They used hand tools — shovels, wheelbarrows, a manual cement mixer. No engines, no electric cables. They let themselves be photographed, which is rare. Most members of their Christian community shun images of any kind. Thei...
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